SB: Was acting always something you knew you had inside?
S: Not at all (laughs). When I was in the 5th grade, I auditioned for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and was cast as part of the ensemble. I internalized that as, “I guess I can’t act.” [laughs] But years later, I was performing in Denver and the director for the local premiere of The Color Purple approached me about auditioning. I laughed and said no. A couple days later, I decided to watch the movie, and I related to Celie so much that I thought I could play her. I had no idea where to start. I called up my friend Matheny, whom I had met on American Idol, who does physical theater. He walked me through the entire audition process. I ended up getting the part of Celie, and I even won a Henry Award, which is Colorado’s version of the Tony Awards. Agents who saw the show approached me about being on camera and ended up signing me. Everything just worked together.
SB: I guess the important lesson that you learned early on was not to get in your own way, as everything was already written. Everything worked together to get you to this point, and that’s an amazing testimony.
S: Right!
SB: It’s a blessing and privilege to be in an industry where your art can then reach other people and impact their lives and how they might deal with certain situations. You never really know your impact, and how strangers might hear your songs, listen to your lyrics or even read this interview and then be inspired to press forward. That’s an awesome gift.
S: Yes! And I don’t take it lightly.
- Advertisement -SB: Let’s get into the album. Can you describe your creative process? Did you consciously select the subject matter for this album, or did it shape itself?
S: My overall goal for Wide Nose Full Lips was for it to be as authentic as possible. The cool thing about being an artist and a listener is that everything that’s recorded is like a snapshot of where I am on my journey. You get to hear where I am in my evolution, and I think that’s super dope.
- Advertisement -I wish I could say that I have a formula as far as my creative process, but I am inspired by so many things. Conversations. Ear-hustling. Movies. Reading a book or newspaper article, dreams. The song “Melanin” came from a dream.
SB: Oh, wow! Tell me about that.
- Advertisement -S: I think that I get songs in my dreams because I am in my least resistant state. Sometimes when I’m awake, I get in my head and I feel the need to jot everything down and it has to be perfect and amazing. But when you are sleeping you can be a vessel. For “Melanin,” in my dream I was walking down the street, past a storefront. Their door was open and music was playing, but it was just the melody. When I woke up, I grabbed my voice recorder and recorded that. The words that came to me was, “Someone to save our lives.” That was all I had. Kierrie and I had recently had a conversation about “white savior mentality” and how a lot of times we think that other people have to save us and that we have no power over our lives or over how we react to things. I called her and told her she should write about it and be on this song. We just thought it would be dope to have a song to remind us of our power, and that even if we don’t recognize it in ourselves, we can go back and think about our ancestors and how strong they were. Their blood still runs through our veins. I remember when she sent me the voice memo of what she wrote, I started crying. I needed to hear that. I needed the reminder and didn’t even know it.
Other times, I will come up with melodies in the shower or my producer will play a melody on the piano. For the song, “Don’t Matter What They Say” I was actually inspired to write two different versions. I had to sit with them to figure out which one felt best. I take my time. I’ll start something, put it down and go back to it. I’m not afraid to start over if I have to.
- Advertisement -SB: And that’s OK! I’m glad you mentioned “Don’t Matter What They Say” because that is actually my favorite track on the album.
S: YAAAAAAY!
- Advertisement -SB: I just love the idea of a love that is resilient and defiant and determined. You can feel that in everything from the lyrics to your tone. It just stood out to me. Before I ran through the entire album completely, I had to run that one back and sit with it for a minute.
S: I love that, thank you!
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